Filling The Void
by DaMastah101
Summary: Shu Ouma could never truly move on from losing Inori Yuzuriha. Three years have passed, since the climactic battle. And the world had mostly moved on. On the outside, Shu appeared to have adapted as well, but in reality, he was hurting. However, there still might be a ray of hope for Shu... This is the proper rewrite of the story formerly titled, "A boy, a girl, and their reunion."
1. Dissonance

**Disclaimer:** **Nope, I don't own Guilty Crown. Kinda wish I did though. Lord knows that I'd rewrite or retcon the heck out of that downer of an ending by greenlighting a second season. Established canon lore be damned. We're gonna make Shu use some random deus ex machina void thing and Inori's gonna come back and stuff, and we're gonna get a happy ending goddammit!**

**#######**

Release my soul - Regular Text

"Bios" - Spoken words/Dialogue

'My Dearest' - Thoughts

{Departures} - Text or audio displayed on-screen or by speaker, be it from a computer/smartphone/TV

* * *

_"The Reunion at hand may bring joy. It may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings. For they are coming back."_

* * *

**[Phase 1 - Dissonance]**

With a sudden jolt of his body, the boy was abruptly woken up.

Despair was etched all over his being. He looked really haggard, to say the least.

Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face, and his eyes were bloodshot and struck with sudden grief. This was accompanied by the gradually increasing pace of his beating heart. Like the roaring pistons rapidly pumping up a fully revved car engine.

Shu Ouma, the boy who ended the Fourth Apocalypse, had just been plagued by yet another disturbing nightmare.

They were instruments used by fate to deprive Shu of the inner peace that he sought.

Perhaps though, merely referring to those horrifying visions as "nightmares" wouldn't be doing the effects they had on the boy enough justice.

Night-time terrors, would be more apt to describe the various vivid scenarios that would play out in Shu's dreamscape, due to the fact that they terrorized his slumber to no end almost every single night.

Literal terrors of the night, if you will.

The Apocalypse Virus. Voids. His estranged sister Mana. The deaths of countless of people. His days as a tyrant at Tennozu High. Lost Christmas. Gai's role as Triton. Visions of the lonely singer that managed to forever leave her mark on his heart.

Visions of Inori's death, over and over.

The terrifying visions would vary in how they would play out. Some of them had Shu reliving his old school life before everything turned to hell. Back to the moments in time when everything had some semblance of normality to it.

Back to the days when Inori would be curious about rice balls and the like. During the time he was still being shaped into a competent fighter by Ayase and his Funeral Parlor comrades.

Shu's dreams would give him pleasant visions at first, only to later horribly twist into what could only be mentioned as the stuff of his worst fears.

All merely serving to remind him that he would always be the one, who would accept the burdens of the world, and lose the one he loved the most.

Forever bearing the Guilty Crown, and the sin of Adam.

Without his Eve, Inori Yuzuriha, by his side.

How many times was it already? The Ouma had lost count. Just this month alone, he could only recall two or three nights that he hadn't been subjected to such mental fatigue by the night terrors. This evening was no different, as Shu had just been deprived of another good night's rest.

The imagery of Inori being stabbed by a million duplicates of Mana who somehow was wielding *that* void, that familiar long sword of Eve that Shu knew all too well, would do that to you.

Being greeted by pitch-black darkness wasn't the most comforting thing in the world either.

Yet another consequence of the final battle at the headquaters of GHQ.

Even though three years had passed by since that fateful moment.

Since Inori essentially disappeared forever from his reach, her sacrifice on his behalf forever changing him into an alive, yet broken man.

He was blind. The light from his eyes had completely vanished.

Out of habit, his left hand traces that feeling of cold metal that now served as a replacement for the right arm that he lost, around the same time that his eyesight was destroyed.

He was a shell of his former self. A troubled boy who had been unfortunate enough to enter the forefront of a calamity.

"Current time." Shu robotically says to no one in particular.

The one to respond to his statement was a grey-colored automated clock, conveniently placed on top of his bedside drawer for ease of access. It had the option of being operated by voice, and thus was the perfect option for the currently blind Shu Ouma.

It was one of the perks of his current generation, brought about by the advancements in technology.

{The current time is now 3:27 AM.} the clock droned out mechanically, making Shu merely sigh out loud with a tired exhale as he scratched his scalp.

He knew that it was pretty pointless to try and go back to sleep and get some shut-eye, as his mind was now fully roused from its prior dormant state. Therefore, his next course of action would be to feel for his walking cane instead.

Shu would always place the cane nearby, having it rest diagonally at the foot of his bed, with its handle in an easy to grip position. And thus, even with his lack of proper vision, it would take less than a minute for him to fetch for the apparatus.

"Might as well go for a walk outside. I just hope mom doesn't catch me going out at this hour..." he remarks with caution in a hushed tone, not wanting to wake up the other currently sleeping resident of their humble home.

The boy knew that he was sure to get a scolding from Haruka, his mother.

Well, not quite. You see, Haruka Ouma wasn't his biological mother, but rather, she was his stepmother actually, being the second wife and lover of the late Kurosu Ouma, his father.

But after everything they've been through, Shu had come to see her as his mother figure. To say that Haruka was his mother, was the only fitting way to put it. They had that kind of bond between them.

And yet, it was this very same bond that would merit him a disciplinary earful from his guardian if he got caught trying to step outside of the house at the godforsaken hour of 3:27 in the early morning, though. That much was certain.

Haruka tended to be quite the mother hen towards the boy as of late. And he appreciated it, he really did. But sometimes, she could be quite overbearing with her parental protection.

He was the one who had thwarted Da'ath's plans for humanity after all, surely a peaceful walk outside wasn't such a big deal?

"Oh who am I kidding, I'd be lucky if I didn't get grounded or something."

Shu would worry about that later, for now, he would clear off his troubled mind with some much needed fresh air.

With the help of his walking cane, the Ouma managed to change into some outdoor clothes, the attire consisting of a pair of jeans, a gray t-shirt, and a hooded jacket with some pockets on it.

And to top it all off, his favorite red scarf.

Years ago, even such basic routines would be a struggle for the blind Shu, as he kept bumping into his furniture, his bed, the walls, and so on. But here he was, three years later, easily performing such tasks without a care in the world.

He had gotten used to his lack of vision, for better or worse.

The walking cane helped too. Tsugumi was the one to gift the fallen king his new "sceptre", so to speak. And as such, she had riddled the walking apparatus with various teched out features to help aid Shu in his condition.

One such feature being put to good use by the boy was a hazard detection system. If the cane was nearing a solid object that wasn't Shu's own hand or skin, it would emit a faint vibration to signal Shu.

Thus, the boy was able to get his clothes from his closet, change into them, and go on with his day.

Well, night in this case. Shu then gets ready to exit his bedroom, but not before making sure that his smartphone was locked and loaded into one of the pockets of his hoodie.

And his trusty pair of wired in-ear headphones.

Yes, Shu still used wired headphones in favor of the popular wireless ones. When asked, he would only state that he wanted to listen to his music in the highest quality possible, and no matter how far technology had come during his time, the fidelity of a high-quality DAC I/O with a 3.5mm headphone and jack wasn't easily replicated by their wireless successor.

And Shu did have good reason to warrant such pickiness with his music.

For as soon as he made his way out of his bedroom door, and then the front door out into the outside world, he immediately listened to his favorite playlist.

One that consistered entirely of EGOIST's songs, and essentially, Inori's legacy.

At least that way, it was like she was still with him, always. And not even death, nor Da'ath, could take that away from him.

The current song was "Departures", and it was fitting for his current melancholic mood.

"I feel quite cold, today."

Whether Shu was referring to the windy coolness of the atmosphere that currently surrounded him as well as the faint traces of snow that he felt, or the numbness that his heart had as he walked by himself, was up to interpretation.

As the boy coasted through the mostly-vacant streets of Tokyo and relished in the comfort of silence, a luxury offered to him by the fact that it was still quite early in the morning, his lack of vision didn't really hinder the imagery that his mind saw.

The buildings that lined up on each of his sides, these streets of Tokyo that in the coming hours would be filled with people and bustling anew.

All of this thanks to Shu becoming the "savior" of their nation, and essentially the world.

And yet, Shu wanted no part in their social ecosystem.

Some of them were grateful towards Shu, who absorbed the burnt of the would-be Fourth Apocalypse, and thus were spared from Mana and the virus' machinations.

Others... were not as kind to him though.

Especially those who remembered his prior stint as the unchallenged tyrant king of Tennozu High. Back when he had all the power in the world, to enforce his will.

The power of the voids, and the despair that came with such a power.

Shu remembered it all, and he was constantly reminded of his sins. Such an instance occurred merely a week ago, when one of the former Tennozu students attempted to stab the boy, and would've succeeded too, if it weren't for Shu having the basics of self-defense down due to his time at Funeral Parlor.

He was no pushover, that was certain. A fact that would probably make Ayase proud.

Though he no longer wielded the coveted Power of the King, his body still had the essence of a hardened combatant. It was even fortunate for him, that his blindness actually helped to sharpen his hearing skills, which in turn made him able to skillfully react with timed dodges towards each furious thrust of the student's knife, just from the sound of whooshing air alone.

What he had lost in terms of sight, Shu had gained tremendously in hearing and touch. It wasn't too bad of a trade-off.

He also managed to parry a few kicks, here and there, with relative ease. Not too shabby, for a blind man with only one organic arm left.

And thus, Shu had quickly disposed of the attacker. He hadn't killed the former student, but instead left him with a few broken bones that were merely deemed as "collateral damage" by the Ouma. Shu had been on the receiving end of multiple curses and expletives during that entire ordeal though.

Right now at least, there were no such attempts on his life, and he was quite alright with that. The less unnecessary violence, the better.

'But make no mistake, I'll promptly mow down anyone who tries to attack me.' he bitterly thought.

That was another thing with the current Shu, as he continued to calm himself with Inori's soothing vocals.

He had become something of a cynic. Right now, he truly believed the words that he uttered a while back, which at the time were merely out of spite.

_"I wonder if it's the selfish people who get ahead in this world, after all."_

Shu truly believed now, that the selfish people were the ones who were a notch above the others. As their own selfishness leads them to cling to whatever they could, in the face of adversity.

Arisa Kouhouin, being a prime example of this, back then. Nowadays, they had a civil relationship, but Shu kept his guard up around the Gai-obssessed woman.

Another example would be Yahiro Samukawa. Even though Shu still considered him as something akin to a friend, they both held some faint mutual resentment towards each other, and both were content with that.

Despite all this, Shu was still a kind boy, deep inside. But the past three years had lead him to develop emotional barriers towards people that weren't in his immediate circle.

People that weren't Haruka, Ayase, Tsugumi and a select list of people, were met with budding suspicion from his mind.

The current cynical Shu, lived life on the edge. Sure, he kept up the facade of normality around his mother, and his friends, but otherwise, one could even say that he hated the world.

He had been broken once, when he lost Hare. And three years ago, the old Shu died with Inori, when she sacrificed herself.

Shu was a husk. But he continued to live on, if only to honor Inori's memory, and for the sake of his loved ones.

After walking for quite a bit, he ended up at a nearby park.

Well, he could at least tell that it was the park, thanks to his muscle memory, and how the cane reacted to what he assumed was a park bench, if the intensity of the cane's vibration was anything to go by.

"Might as well rest for a bit, hmm. Maybe before the snow fully manifests." he noted after making sure with his left hand that it was indeed a park bench.

He began to hum the beginning tune of Inori's current song on his phone, a somber track titled "Euterpe" by EGOIST.

_"Saita... no no hana yo..."_

Hearing the voice of his beloved, would always calm the raging fire inside him that was his troubled emotions. She had this calming effect on him, a "security blanket", so to speak.

Shu allowed himself to be immersed into the music.

It was his way, of becoming one with Inori once more.

The boy could almost feel her warm touch, almost as if she was within arm's reach, and that she had never left him...

"Inori..."

A lone tear fell from his right eye.

It still hurt, after all this time. But he had to deal with the fact, that she wasn't coming back. Her music, her voice, the memories. These were all that he had left of her, and he had to eventually come to terms with that.

He knew, that even without Inori Yuzuriha, the world would continue to move on.

Ayase had told him as much, when they had last met.

_"Shu! We all miss Inori dearly, believe me, but you have got to accept the fact that she's gone!"_

Shu choked up a bit at the recent memory. He knew. The boy knew damn well that they were right. He was the one who was acting irrational here, like a stubborn child who threw a tantrum when he couldn't get whatever it was that he wanted.

He had to move on. The world itself demanded that much from him. The people around him were also expecting it from him, he knew. None of them wanted to see Shu still bound by the shackles of their unfortunate past.

The thing is though, having to do something and wanting to do it, were two separate things.

And Shu Ouma never wanted to "move on" over Inori Yuzuriha.

Three years had done nothing, but make her absence sting all the more for him. He would never truly get over her departure from the realm of the living.

This moment, right now, where it was only him and no one else in sight, it was a time where Shu could break away from his patented cold facade, and cry his heart out. For none of them had known the true extent of hopelessness and regret that Shu felt these past three years.

This was a for him time to let out the bottled feelings that had accumulated within the deepest crevices of his heart.

No one would judge him, and no one would care right now. There was no one around to tell him that he needed to "move on", especially since he wasn't quite ready to. It felt like he would never be ready to move on, from the girl that had changed his life forever.

He would never be able to just go on with his life, without her.

It was just Shu by himself, no one else.

No one.

And he would grieve, like he did every single time Inori haunted his dreams, the girl just had that much of an effect on him.

The pain, it all came back to him, and it was very painful. Shu felt like he was being stabbed through the chest, with a sword of despair and hurt.

Like the entire world was out to get him, to forever separate him from his love.

"I miss you so much, Inori..." he cries out in a hoarse voice, letting the tears all flow out freely as he hugged himself. Just this once, he would let it all out and cry for himself. For his own sake.

After he had given up so much for the world, for the people around him, after being forced to carry a burden that came with the power he once had.

He would give himself this moment, to fully comprehend that she was gone from his life.

It was winter time, indeed. Snowflakes started to form a carpet of white around the place where Shu stood, crying his heart out.

Maybe it was heaven itself, sympathizing with Shu. Maybe the snowflakes that fell towards the earth, were actually the frozen tears of God himself, crying for Shu's sake.

For he had lost, basically everything.

Inori Yuzuriha had left an everlasting void of loss within Shu Ouma, one that could not be easily filled by anyone else. A deep abyss of longing and sorrow, that gnawed at his sanity as each lonesome day passed by.

All because of that cursed guilty crown, that the boy was forced to wear.

Shu Ouma... was truly broken.

**-Phase 1 END-**

* * *

**A/N: Welcome, to the rewritten and refined version of "A boy, a girl, and their reunion", my Guilty Crown fanfic. This will mostly follow the base plot structure of its predecessor, however some events may be altered, expanded on, or omitted altogether.**

**I've decided to give this storyline of mine another go, and it will coincide with my Doki Doki Literature Club fanfics in terms of updates, though the schedule might be tighter on this end as I'm currently focused on my main fanfic - The World Beyond The Screen. But yeah, rest assured that I am once again attempting to do my best, to give Shu, Inori, and the GC ensemble the ending they deserve. Well, my interpretation of that at least, seeing as there's already tons of amazing stories by the fandom here anyway.**

**These characters still mean a lot to me, and even after all these years, I haven't truly gotten over their fate just yet.**

**For those of you who have read "A boy, a girl, and their reunion", look forward to an improved story this time around, now with a better grasp on grammar and flow thanks to the experience I've gotten with my other stories. The first thing you'll notice is that this rewrite will now have its story told in the 3rd Person POV, instead of being in a shifting 1st Person Narrative POV. And for the new readers, I hope you all enjoy the story I have to tell. This is just the beginning.**

**It's been a while, but I'm back and reborn anew. I've missed the Guilty Crown fandom dearly.**

**See you all soon, in the next update.**


	2. Realization

**Disclaimer: Same old disclaimer stuff to be seen here, nothing new. I still do not own the Guilty Crown franchise, unfortunately.**

**#######**

Release my soul - Regular Text

"Bios" - Spoken words/Dialogue

'My Dearest' - Thoughts

{Departures} - Text or audio displayed on-screen or by speaker, be it from a computer/smartphone/TV

* * *

_"A scattered dream that's like a far off memory... A far off memory that's like a scattered dream... I wanna line the pieces up... yours, and mine..."_

* * *

**[Phase 2 - Realization]**

Shu eventually fixed up his appearance by drying away the tears with his handkerchief, after about half an hour of him crying in solitude had elapsed. It wouldn't have done him any good to be seen in such a miserable state by his peers, should they happen to be passing by at an oppurtune time. Nevertheless, Shu really needed that sort of release, every once in a while.

It was part of being human, and keeping up one's emotions locked away only served to deteriorate you from the inside. Shu knew this, and had found a way to maintain himself in his own way.

For the burdened Ouma, it felt like an immense weight being lifted off of his shoulders, evident as he smiled his first genuine smile in quite a long time. And while it still had the hint of a pained expression behind it, it was indeed a legitimate smile that had come from the heart. He had a much lighter expression at the moment, and he felt at peace with himself.

The road to acceptance wasn't an easy one for the scorned Shu, but he would take it one step at a time until he could finally reach the closure he sought.

"I'll always love you, Inori... always." he says to himself, content after releasing his emotions out in the open after so long. Though he still wasn't quite healed just yet, it was something at least.

He could live with just that form of release for now.

For now, he returned to the bench and sat down once more, while taking off his headphones and pausing his EGOIST playlist.

Shu would focus on feeling his surroundings, the world without Inori. And for the boy, the atmosphere around him felt much more intense due to his lack of sight. Despite the chilliness around him, he felt quite warm.

He could go back home later, and deal with the consequences of sneaking out in the early monrning. Because right now, he just needed some quality alone time by himself. Surely, that wasn't too much to ask, right?

And so, Shu sat in comfortable silence, alone in the park whilst snow continued to cover everything in the purity of white. He resumed his EGOIST playlist, immersing himself even further into the sweet melody of his beloved's voice. It really felt like Inori was with him again, and that nothing could ruin such a peaceful moment for him.

Shu took his sweet time humming in silence. For it was a Saturday, and there wasn't much to do anyway. Except, maybe get scolded by Haruka for sneaking out, but otherwise, he allowed himself to dilly-dally like this once in a while. Plus, his phone's battery was fully charged, and so he had tons of hours to spare.

Hours later, and the park started to fill with people, and he could hear the voices of people from all walks of life. Children that played in the snow, housewives that were gossiping about the latest news, and other types of people that Shu didn't pay much heed to.

"Oh well, alone time's over. Might as well head back."

And thus began the walk back home, with Shu once again relying on his heightened sense of hearing, as well as his walking stick, to safely make it back. It was already morning by the time he had returned to the Ouma residence, and as expected, Haruka Ouma was anything but pleased.

The moment Shu stepped through his front door, with the standard "I'm home." greeting, he immediately heard his mother's voice from the living room area.

"Shu, come here for a moment." it was oddly calm, but the boy knew better than to assume.

Muscle memory coming into play once again, he ends up standing in front of Haruka.

And soon enough, Shu was being interrogated by the former Senior Researcher of Sephirah Genomics. Her usual playfulness being replaced by her work demeanor, which meant that she was all business at the moment. A no-nonsense tone was in play.

"Well, Shu? Mind telling me about why you went outside in the cold by yourself before the sun could even rise, young man?"

"I'm fine mom. Look, I made it back in one piece, so it isn't really a big deal..."

"You haven't answered the question, Shu. Tell me, I'm listening."

Heaving a heavy-hearted sigh, which earned him a snappy reply of "Don't sigh like that at me, Shu! You could've been attacked by some random stranger!" from his worried stepmother, he relented by telling her about his inner struggle.

Calming down a bit after hearing Shu's plight, Haruka pulled him close for a motherly hug.

"Another nightmare, huh. Don't worry, Haruka's here." she says soothingly, while rubbing circles on Shu's back. It was times like this that showed how close the two had become since the aftermath of the Fourth Apocalypse.

"I still miss her, mom. It's hard. I'm doing my best to move on though."

"I understand, take as much time as you need. Inori-chan was a big part of our lives, especially yours. But remember that you have other people here you can rely on, you know that right?"

Shu nodded, appearing to agree on the outside. But in reality, this was his mask of normality taking over. His facade of everything being okay. He truly appreciated his stepmom's concern, however not even she knew the full extent of Shu's suffering.

Breakfast that morning was eaten by the pair in silence, with neither of them really speaking to each other. Every now and then, Shu and Haruka would look at each other, before going back to eating their meal, a basic one that consisted of toast, eggs, and bacon, as Haruka was in the mood for something Western-inspired that day.

Or as Shu would've put it, she couldn't really cook much else anyway without royally screwing it up.

Soon, Haruka had to leave for work, but not before bidding Shu goodbye with a hug. With GHQ gone, Haruka's line of duty was now similar to that of a social worker, in the newly established "Apocalypse Rehabilitation Movement" or the ARM, which dealt mostly with the aftermath of the Fourth Apocalypse and the Virus throughout Tokyo and the entirety of Japan. She was also part of its research team, looking into any potential signs of the virus re-emerging from its former surviving victims.

Shu had been to the ARM's main headquarters before, without knowing what it actually looked like thanks to obvious reasons... however he knew that he could not stay for too long at that place without attracting much attention towards himself.

He was still publicly known as the one who ended it all. Shu also wasn't really comfortable in the ARM either way, there were too many reminders of his past. Especially the unmistakable sound of crystal being tinkered with, evidently being lasting effects from the virus that weren't completely nullified by his void assuming everything.

Right now though, Shu was again alone in their house, and had nothing much to do for his Saturday.

"I could go to Ayase and Tsugumi's place but..." he hesitated. Knowing that the girls kept in contact with Haruka, he'd likely also be scolded for going out alone in the early morning. They likely knew anyway due to Tsugumi keeping regular tabs on him, as per Ayase's precautionary request, but that was one headache he couldn't really care to deal with at the moment.

So, he did the next best thing, and tried to sleep again inside his bedroom. Changing into his sleepwear, and charging his phone at the nearby wall, he sighed. The boy often found himself exhaling quite often when he was by himself.

Upon lying down his matress, his eyes were still wide open. Not that he could see anything either way, but the boy ended up staring at his ceiling.

This went on for hours until he finally felt the lull of sleepiness grip his consciousness.

*******Filling The Void*******

It was now Saturday evening, when Shu had waken up once more from his slumber. His sleeping cycle was pretty much irregular these past three years, as another side-effect of his past struggles. Another nightmare had manifested, but he hadn't let the vision get to him as much this time. His release at the park earlier today had really helped in his coping.

Of course, Haruka still hadn't come back, and most likely would be out until late in the evening. Shu was pretty much left to his own devices.

Not really feeling hungry, he fetched for his phone and once again prepared to go out for a stroll to the very same park he had been in hours earlier. Most of the people had gone back to their homes and the like, leaving Shu the oppurtunity to enjoy the park's surroundings in peaceful silence once again.

And as he sat on that very same bench, he hummed blissfully in contentment. Nothing could tarnish the solace of silence for him. "Inori..." he breathed out as the winter chill coursed through his body.

...

...

...

"Well, well, well now! And what might we have here at this fine hour?"

...or not. For his traunquil setting had been rudely interrupted by this newcomer and his condescending tone.

The presence of another person had put Shu on guard, and their voice seemed oddly familiar. An image of the potential owner's face flashed through his mind, and it made him sweat a bit in realization. This wasn't exactly the best situation for him.

'This voice... but it's been so long since-... it couldn't be?!' Shu inwardly panicked, even though he was completely calm and collected on the outside. He had learned that it wouldn't do good to give away his worry, especially towards this person. Thus, any visible tell of panic on his face was expertly concealed behind a mask of calmness.

Shu had no idea why this person had showed up all of a sudden. He wasn't exactly a welcome presence. Thus, he'd pry a little further to make sure of his intentions.

"What the hell do you want from me, Yuu?" Shu growls out, with barely restrained venom in his voice.

The Ouma loathed this man, for he was a huge factor that contributed to the events that lead up to the loss of his beloved. That, and he was one of the major driving forces behind the Fourth Apocalypse. His machincations had become the foundation for the chaos that had ensued three years ago.

He was a bad omen, one that had to be dealt with as swiftly as possible.

"Ah, good. Yes, this is fantastic! It would seem that the fallen Adam still hasn't entirely forgotten about me, the esteemed representative of the will of mankind. An envoy, if you will. That makes things much, much simpler. And although it's brought me great amusement to see you pathetically sulking over that fake Eve of yours, there are more... pressing matters that I'd like to get out of the way first." the envoy of Da'ath taunts with raised hands while slowly levitating off the park grounds, in a manner that was meant to be taken as a display of his current superiority over Shu.

Not that it mattered though, since the Ouma was blind anyway and wouldn't have been able to see the blonde man's grandiose actions. Though this did prompt the boy to stand up, while tightly gripping on his walking cane's handle. Shu's body tensed, ready to dodge at any moment should Yuu suddenly decide to attack him with a long-ranged strike or something.

His finger hovered over a hidden button on the apparatus, one that was put in place by Tsugumi. When pressed, it would send a distress signal to her or Ayase, alerting them if Shu was in the middle of something that he couldn't easily handle by himself.

Just to make sure, he lightly pressed the button. The boy reasoned that it never hurt anyone to be prepared enough in case things went awry.

For now though, maybe this unexpected appearance of Yuu could shed some light on several questions that had been taking up residence in his mind, these past three years. As a central figure from the enigmatic group known as Da'ath, Shu could safely assume that Yuu had the answer to a lot of his inner doubts and inquiries. With that in mind, Shu decided to listen to whatever the envoy had to say for now.

"Oh? What's the matter? I would've thought that by now, you'd be using one of your abilities to defend yourself! Go on, use the Power of the Kings, Shu Ouma! Fulfill your role as Da'ath's chosen Adam!" Yuu continued to taunt while laughing mockingly.

Using his telekinetic abilities, Yuu extends his right palm forward, and an unseen force of kinetic energy suddenly pushes Shu backwards, making him bend one of his knees on the ground due to the shockwave's impact.

The back of the envoy's hand was now branded with a black-colored sigil, indicating that Yuu's void genome was still present. He too, had powers fitting that of a king, not unlike the power formerly wielded by both Shu and Gai Tsutsugami. "The way you are right now, is such an eyesore. I can't believe how pathetic you've become, oh fallen Adam. However, Da'ath still requires your existence, therfore I shall not strip you of your miserable life, just yet. You can live with that satisfaction and breathe easy, Shu Ouma."

Da'ath... the organization that seemingly upped and disappeared without a trace from the face of the earth after the events of the Fourth Apocalypse, and its failed attempt to infect the majority of mankind with the Virus.

Shu had to play this out very carefully. Currently, despite being able to fend for himself, Yuu clearly had the upper hand between the two of them. He had to use his cards wisely, and use to his advantage the fact that the envoy seemingly had no plans of killing him. He would try to milk whatever information he could from the evidently talkative envoy, hoping that he'd let slip some vital clues.

"You wouldn't come here and approach me without any proper reason, wouldn't you. What do you want from me?" Shu insisted, and Yuu grins smugly at the Ouma's persistence.

He descends to the ground, ceasing his prior levitation. Yuu walks at a snail's pace towards the spot where Shu stood, and this causes the boy to tense himself even more than before. Despite being blind, his heightened senses let him know that his enemy was dangerously nearing his personal space. He had to be quick on his toes, if he wanted to make it out of this encounter unscathed.

Yuu claps with mock praise, another part of the mind game he was currently employing against the Ouma. "Very good, Adam. You're quite quick to catch onto things. Indeed, I was sent here by Da'ath to survey the area and to see if you were still alive. And after seeing your current state... it's really an unoptimal one. Your current self is definitely not fit to act out the role of the king that you have been chosen for. The Adam that will lead humanity to greater heights is supposed to be strong, worthy of leading."

Yuu's words had begun to piss Shu off slowly but surely, but the Ouma couldn't lose his composure just yet. Right now, he would let this man ramble on, just to get some information on Da'ath's plans.

"Instead, what we have here is no proper king. Not even a prince. No, your countenance has become pathetic enough, that you have become something tantamount to a mere court jester! You won't even use the Power of the Kings to defend yourself even if your life is already at risk!"

Shu decided to interject his own input at this moment, for there was something that he was not quite getting. Why was Yuu hellbent on him supposedly being able to utilize the Void Genome's power in retaliation? He had long lost the ability to do anything of the sort these past three years. Especially when he assumed Inori's essence into his own person, along with the blindness that had destroyed his vision, essentially making it impossible for him to draw out any voids in the first place.

"You keep on pointing out that I haven't used the power, but I'm currently blind. I can't use it, even if I wanted to! You've come here for nothing. Now leave me in peace and let me be!" he yells out with spite, and this made Yuu pause for a bit, before the envoy started laughing heartily to himself, even holding his gut a bit due to excessive laughter.

His laughter was so great, that it made Shu look like the butt of some inside joke that only Yuu knew of. It was mockery to the fullest extent, there was no other way to put it.

"What are you laughing for, Yuu?! It's true, in case you didn't know, I've lost my eyesight after my void powers assumed both Inori's crystallization and her blindness 3 years ago! I'm no longer this so-called 'King' that you keep calling me!"

Yuu took a while to settle down, and when he did, his voice took on a sly tone. Silky, and yet menacing at the same time. Truly apt for the one who had orchestrated a lot of things behind the scenes during the conflict all those years ago.

"If that fake Eve you love so much were here right now, she'd be disappointed in the current you. Shu Ouma, the fallen Adam. You really lack the proper knowledge that one would expect a king to possess. Of course you can still use the power! A king's duty is only relieved upon his death! Blindness? Tell me, was that blindness even your own to begin with?"

The envoy of Da'ath uses the power of flight to zip past Shu and land on his side, whispering something in his ear. Shu had just gotten blitzed by the envoy to the point that he hadn't had the reaction time to register this fact quick enough. It all happened in an instant, at least in his perspective.

"Remember this, oh fallen Adam. Your duty is not over yet. Da'ath is expecting you to live up to your name as king. As for the power of the Kings that you claim to have lack of access to, figure it out yourself. You can do that much, at least."

He then backs away, a lot more slowly this time, preparing to leave Shu with even more budding questions instead of answers. "Now then, I must take my leave. We will meet again though, that much is certain. If you wish to know more, you'll know where to come and meet me. It'll come to you, I'm sure. Therefore, until we cross paths again, oh fallen Adam." he taunts one final time before starting to levitate away.

Shu wasn't about to easily let all of this slide though. What the hell did Yuu mean by his duty not being over yet?! What more could they possibly want from him, when he had already lost so much? What right did Da'ath have to use him as a pawn in their game of chess with the governments of the world?

"Yuu! What are you planning?!" he desperately yells out in one last gambit, giving the blonde man pause in his flight. He floated mid-air at a distance, but not far enough that his reply would be unheard by Shu. Yuu then decided to humor Shu with a response, after deciding that it would inevitably benefit him and his organization in the long run. The envoy had to give the boy something to mull about, after all.

"For now, that does not concern you. Oh, that's right. Before I forget, that fake of yours? Inori Yuzuriha, as you like to call her? Without Mana to act as Eve, the fake has automatically been selected for the role by the Apocalypse. She still exists, and maybe knowing this would make you shape up a bit, oh foolish king! Therefore rejoice, for your woman still lives! And with that, I shall take my leave!" he declares before leaving a stumped Shu standing amidst all the snow.

The boy was left in massive shock, at what he had just learned from the envoy. He remained motionless in place, not sure if he had heard Yuu correctly just now. It made his heart speed up, and the gears in his mind were working overtime to process this.

After what seemed like an eternity, Shu's voice was shaky and unstable. He had no reason to even entertain what Yuu had said, but deep down he knew, that the envoy wouldn't be so bold to approach him like that, if what he said didn't have some truth grounded in it.

Now that he thought about it, what the envoy said had some sense to it. His blindness was the proof at least about him assuming Inori in some form, but did this really mean that she...

The image of her smiling face handing her red string that formed a cat's cradle flashed through his mind, and along with it, sudden tears formed from his eyes.

"Inori... you're still alive?"

**-Phase 2 END-**

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**A/N: We're only at Chapter 2, and this rewrite is already almost as long as "A boy, a girl, and their reunion" in terms of word count, ahaha. See you all in the next update!**


	3. The Singer's Encore

**Disclaimer: Look, Guilty Crown isn't owned by me, got it?!**

**#######**

Release my soul - Regular Text

"Bios" - Spoken words/dialogue

'My Dearest' - Thoughts

{Departures} - Text or audio displayed on-screen or by speaker, be it from a computer/smartphone/TV.

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_"The moment you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on so long."_

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**[Phase 3 - The Singer's Encore]**

The state of aloneness, in a world filled with nothing but a myriad of crystal machinations and shattered hope.

A vast amount of rose-colored crystal pillars filled the area to seemingly no end. Their collective pink glow shimmered without fail, bright enough to act as the main source of light for the otherwise mostly empty realm.

Here, we see a lone figure standing alone, surrounded by not much else other than the aforementioned crystals and lots of vacant space. She stood there, appearing to be lost in thought. Lazily reaching out for one of the nearby crystals, the girl casually extends a hand, as if taking hold of the them from afar.

The moment she performed the gesture, the crystal formations seemed to bend to her very will. The girl does a couple of circular wrist motions, accompanied by various twists and flicks of her hand and fingers, her hands doing work as the crystals obediently followed her every command.

It was the power of crystallokinesis. A dreaded power that did nothing to ease her troubled mind. For such a power, along with everything else that pertained to the crystals themselves, only reminded her of the tumultuous events that had happened so long ago. Of everything that she had gone through with her special person.

And such memories only brought her immense pain. Pain that she would still continue to bear for as long as she existed within this vast realm of crystallization.

Growing tired of playing around with the crystal formations, she relinquishes her telekinetic hold with a sigh and slumps down, once again reminiscing about her past. The girl had all the time in the world to do as much.

"Shu..."

She missed him dearly, her beloved. He was a part of her life that had brought the girl much joy, but was now out of reach. Her entire being screamed for the desire to be by his side once more, to live a happy life with him.

To once again go back to a much simpler time, like when Shu was teaching her about the joys of riceballs and school life in general.

"I miss you so much, Shu..." she whispers out sadly.

However, the girl was well aware that her wish could never come to pass. She had made sure of that when she took on the cost of Shu's burden in ending the Apocalypse Virus.

Inori Yuzuriha knew that the sacrifice had to be made. It was an act of love for her, and she hadn't regretted her decision to save her beloved. Otherwise, he would've been the one to disappear. And she wouldn't have been able to handle the pain of Shu suffering any further.

The girl was aware of what she was getting into, when she exchanged her soul in order to spare Shu's life from the Apocalypse's aftermath. She knew that it was for the best. And she lived out her days in this strange dimension, fully content with that fact.

Lonely, yes. But she was content.

'Are you truly content with just this, though? Don't you want to get out of this wretched place?'

Inori's body tensed upon hearing the voice. She would sometimes hear such thoughts injected into her mind by a foreign presence, and along with it that same chilling voice that held nothing but barely-hidden venom towards Inori. It spoke to her, planting various seeds of doubt within her.

It was _her _voice. The magnum opus of Da'ath's schemes. The girl that had driven a wedge into Shu and Inori's lives. The original "Eve", and the harbringer of chaos herself.

Mana Ouma.

'You're nothing but a fake, one who was only meant to be my vessel. And yet, you had the audacity to act like you have any right to live?!'

"Khhh..." Inori clutched her head in pain. The psychological attacks from Mana were pretty strong this time around, she noticed. It was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain her composure.

Yet another thing she had to endure for seemingly an eternity by herself. For there was no one around to help bear her burden.

'My precious Shu should've been with me, his loving sister! He should've chosen to be by my side as my chosen Adam. Me, he should've stayed with me! Not with someone like you, but with me! Because only I could've given him true happiness, the real deal and the true Eve! I, Mana Ouma, am the path to salvation!'

'You two are never going to be together again!'

'Spend the rest of your days in this lonely void of endless crystals, and suffer alone for all of eternity!'

'Go ahead and just kill yourself, seeing as no one would miss the mere counterfeit that you are anyway!'

Mana verbally lashed at Inori with increasing anger and unrelenting fury until she could no longer take anymore from the deranged teen without reacting just as heatedly in response.

"Why are you doing this?! Why won't you stop?" Inori yells out in defiance with a hysterical shriek. Her vocal chords being strained as she screamed from the top of her lungs. She panted heavily with labored breaths, due to the amount of negative influence from Mana taking an immense toll on her mental state.

"Why, you ask? Because you stole Shu from me! A mere cheap imitation like you!"

Inori's eyes flared with a simultaneous mix of anger and tensed anticipation, as she turned around to face the source of the voice. Behind her, stood the source of her and Shu's suffering, all those years ago. The one hailed by Da'ath as "Eve", and sister of Shu Ouma.

Mana Ouma, in all of her depraved glory, had fully manifested within the crystal-filled realm. She was clad in the very same appearance she had, when she had possessed Inori's body during the fateful battle at GHQ three years ago. A silky dark purple gown that clung to her body cascaded by her long and flowing hair, with various crystal formations protruding from her shoulders and the sides of her head.

The two Eves have once again come face to face. It was a reunion that Inori faced with a great amount of disdain.

"Leave me alone!" with her mental state now in full disarray due to Mana's taunts, Inori's hands already had her fingers arched into claws. She violently swiped the air in front of her, whilst controlling the crystals around them with her crystallokinesis and aiming them all at Mana in the form of huge pink spikes being flung at high speed. They charged at the Ouma in rapid succession for the kill. If she wanted a fight, then Inori would gladly bring the fight to her in full force.

"URYAAAAAH!" Inori yells, her hand movements picking up the pace in order to make her floating crystal weapons charge at her opponent even faster.

Mana wasn't slacking though, carefully timing her body's movements as she dodges the various spikes of death heading her way, before touching some of the crystals that were near her. Each crystal formation she touched had changed color from their normal pink to a darker shade of purple.

"Haaah!" Inori rushes at the other girl with a long and sharp chunk of crystal, and tries stabbing her torso with it, but evidently fails when a purple-colored crystal panel blocked her blow. Mana had managed to shield herself very quickly.

"You're not the only one who has the ability to toy with these things, fake." she confidently sneered, now being able to command her own set of crystal spikes and no longer staying on the defensive.

"It's amazing really, what an original like me can do better when compared to a poor imitation such as yourself." Mana proudly noted, continuing her trend of talking down at Inori as if she were mere trash.

Panting lightly, the Yuzuriha took Mana's taunts in stride, not allowing herself to be distracted and rattled. She had a battle to win, and she would do so with a calm mind and a steady hand.

And thus, a long and hard battle began between the two Eves, each of them trying to outperform the other in firepower and technique when it came to using the crystals to their advantage.

"I see blood, ahahahahahaha~!" Mana cackles out as she merely points a finger at Inori and soon after, the crystals were already flying forward at breackneck speed.

The Yuzuriha did her best to avoid and parry each crystal spike of the onslaught, though she wasn't fully unscathed either way as nicks and gashes began to accumulate on the exposed parts of her skin.

The two of them fought tirelessly, and due to both of them relying on the same form of crystal-based weaponry, the battle boiled down to that of attrition. Who among the two of them could tank the most damage before giving in and losing the fight.

Mana laughed maniacally, as she gently flicked her right hand in an upward motion, and the sky above them began raining purple-colored crystal spikes, striking indiscriminately at a massive radius and in turn covering even more ground than before. She then clenches her right hand into a fist and the already-falling spikes began to split up into more spikes, further amplifying the area of effect.

"Let's see you dodge that, you faker! Die, just die~!" Mana conjures her own personal crystal roof to shield herself from being hit by her own attack.

With a deep breath, Inori raises both her arms above her head and quickly forms a defensive crystal barrier in order to buy some time. The newly-formed barrier manages to shield the girl in the nick of time, and Inori used this to come up with a strategy. But it wasn't a foolproof solution, as cracks and dents began to form not too long after the barrier was erected.

Inori was running low on time and energy, and Mana was gradually gaiing the upper hand.

'Mana having just as much control over these crystals is proving to be a problem... I need to think of something, and fast...' she reasons while weighing her options. Inori knew well that a prolonged battle wouldn't be in her favor, due to Mana's seemingly more masterful use of crystallokinesis. Mana barely needed to move her hands and arms to control the damn things, whilst Inori needed her full concentration and effort to match the Ouma's proficiency. Thus, she needed to settle things as quickly as possible.

She couldn't do a straight-up frontal attack either, as Mana would merely conjure a crystal shield faster than Inori could even land a direct hit.

All of this wasn't even factoring in whatever motive Mana could have for suddenly appearing in front of her after all this time, after years of merely messing with her as a voice within her head. This was the first time Mana had bothered actually launching a physical attack, much to her chagrin. Something wasn't quite adding up.

Inori was in quite the pickle, to say the least. And even in the midst of this dire situation, her mind still gravitated towards the bearer of the Guilty Crown. Towards the boy who had been separated from her by her own sacrifice.

'What would you do if it were you... Shu?'

**-Phase 3 END-**

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**A/N: See you guys in the next update, sorry it's been a while. Next update will be longer in wordcount, I promise.**


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